Guardian
by Talicor
Summary: In a time long forgotten... In an age unrecalled... There is Guardian. One sworn to protect a powerful lineage... Pulled from the pages of his life... This, is Guardian's story, as it was meant to be told.
1. Intro

_Hehe... Here it is! The intro to my newest gem! I warn you now, this is VERY different from my previous work!_

_Prepare for vague beauty and poetic interludes!_

* * *

**I am Guardian.**

** Once… I had a name.**

** A _life_…**

** Now, I am nothing but a protector. Keeping promises, long cold with time.**

** But I _remember_…**

** I remember the being I was in the beginning.**

** I remember having dreams… Hopes and sorrows…**

** I remember being able to _feel_…**

** And this… This is my story.**


	2. The Master

_Hehe... Hello my little readers! I apologize for not releasing this yesterday! Had some technical difficulties!_

_HOWEVER! I shall deliver today! This story has quite a bit of buildup, so I give thee another shorter chapter.._

* * *

"Master, please… I don't want to talk about it."

The sun setting on a certain cityscape, a young woman withdrew, settling on the railing of a worn balcony, her strawberry hair shimmering with the golden rays of a dying day.

"Young one… You must understand." Her dark robed mentor looked at her with concern, hands resting on the railing beside her, the warmth of daylight slipping down his form, "You are the last… If you choose to attempt revival of the ancient ways, the family will end."

Almost snorting in response, she turned away, placing her chin on her knees as she drew herself together.

"Jedi shouldn't have families," she answered, not bothering to look up at him, "Everyone knows it royally messed up the galaxy when they didn't adhere to the old ways."

A mournful sigh escaped the master, and he too turned out to observe the vista before them.

"Do not let ancient mistakes dictate your life choices, young one… I swore myself to ensure a better future for you… Do not cause it to be in vain."

"I don't even think I'm capable of love, master…" Burying her head in her ams, she attempted to block him out, only for a large hand to rest on her shoulder.

"Do not think such things, little one," He soothed, simply being there for her. "Love is something that anyone is capable of."

"Master, why do you even care if I find love or not?" She asked, finally looking back at the descending slices of light edging the horizon, splashing off the glistening panels of nearby buildings. "It's not like it would affect you."

Another sigh, and the master lowered his hand.

"Do you know just why I am here, young one? Teaching you in the ways of the Force, and raising you?"

"My father was a deadbeat… Couldn't handle caring for a baby I guess…" A soft mutter returned from her still form, sea-green eyes falling. "I'm just another reject shoved into the Jedi's arms."

Eyes falling, the master drew close, placing an arm around her shoulders.

"You are anything but a reject, my padawan... You have the potential for greatness. If only you open your eyes to the opportunities before you."

The young woman huffed moodily, but allowed herself to fall into his fatherly embrace.

"How would you know?"

"Little one... I have seen generations rise and fall. The galaxy has reshaped itself multiple times in my life... I have followed the lineage of this family from the very first... I have seen the miracles wrought by their hands-"

"But I am not them!" She snapped back, finally unfolding to stand on the sturdy balcony floor, "I am average, Master! Just because my great-great-great whatever was a hero, doesn't mean I am capable of the same!"

Able to only watch her sadly, he withdrew, giving her a little room.

"I don't even know why you've stayed so long, Master..." She mumbled, turning her back on him, "There's nothing worth protecting in me..."

Shaking his head, the elder individual rested his hands on the sun splashed railing, Looking up a moment, he took in the vista of stars, sprouting from the dimming sky above them.

"Little one... Do you truly wish to know why I have remained by your side all these years?"

The slim figure simply nodded, eyes red with hidden tears in her frustration.

"I want to... Understand, Master.. I feel so alone..." She drifted off, before drawing into his fatherly comfort again, "Why would you willingly subject yourself to this?"

Knowingly, he looked down at the one he had practically claimed as a daughter.

"I am keeping a promise... One I intend to keep as long as possible."

"A promise?" Innocence threaded her voice in honest curiosity, anything to drive away her demeaning views of the life she claimed as her own.

She wished to escape hers for just a moment, and slip into someone else's.

Realizing this, the age-worn master began to spin his tale.


	3. The Promise

_I bring you another update, younglings!_

* * *

**It was dark.**

**I recall the deep desperation as I clung to the shaking form.**

**No.**

**Please, no...**

**Do not leave me, little one.**

**But still, blood welled from a mortal wound.**

**And I was helpless.**

**Nothing.**

**I could do ****_nothing_**** for them.**

"F-Fa..."

**The weak voice barely reaches my ears.**

**"Yes, little one?"**

**I ask, furrowed with shock and sorrow.**

**A wet gasp.**

"T-take... C-care.. O-of.."

**"Sh.. Conserve your energy."**

**I plead, unwilling to consider the cold reality.**

**"Help will come... You'll be alright..."**

**We both know it is a lie, and a head is shaken.**

"T-he family..."

**"Don't do this to me... I need you."**

"Promise..."

**Their breath begins to slow, and I can feel the lag in pulse.**

**I know this is the end.**

**"I promise... I-I'll do my best..."**

**I stumble over the words, heart wrenched and bleeding.**

**Don't make me go on alone..**

"I-I.. L-love y-you..."

**Tears mar my battle-worn face, and can only hold the smaller form to myself.**

**Sobs shake us both.**

**"I love you too, little one... I love you more than the stars in the heavens.."**

**"I love you past the ends of the universe..."**

**"More than the Force itself..."**

**A blood-smeared hand takes mine.**

**One last time.**

**"And I would do anything for you."**

**A final sigh escapes their lips.**

**And I know they are gone.**


	4. Starrise

_Ooh, Whaddya know... Another update today!_

* * *

"That was the day I swore myself to this duty..." The master paused in his tale, looking down at the silent tears of his ward.

"Oh, Master..." She choked out, clinging to him all the tighter. She had wished to look through another's eyes, and now she was feeling it. In full, terrible beauty.

"Hush, my little one," he soothed, stroking her hair with a gloved hand, "It is all in the past... Do not despair."

"But that was so long ago..." She whispered, burying her face in the dark garments he wore, "Over two _hundred_ years..."

The sun has receded now, and only the silvery web of stars illuminated the aged balcony, their pinpricks of light dancing off the master's face in sharp chips, providing a soft ambivalence to the scene.

"I am aware, young one..." He responded softly, looking back up to the heavens, shielding her from the breeze with a heavy cloak, "But what is time, when you have a purpose... Something to live for... And love in return?"

Uncertain, the padawan dropped her gaze from the view she had joined her master in.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Seemingly snapped from his reverie, the Master lowered his eyes to meet hers.

"Mm... Perhaps... I have decided it has come time to share my story... To release ancient heartaches." Tenderly brushing a stray hair from her face, he tipped his head, "I trust you... And I wish for you to learn from my story, little one."

"Learn what, master?"

A slight, empty chuckle, and the master shook his head.

"That, little one," He began, "Is for you to discover for yourself."

A sad smile reached the padawan's lips, and the breeze shook her, passing through gaps in the sable of the master's cloak, offered like a protective wing.

In an almost instinctive response, the master drew her close again, and turned himself, further blocking the breeze.

Fingering the thick fabric, she soaked warmth from her protector before looking up at him.

"I'm ready to learn, Master... If you are willing to keep teaching me."

Nodding at her openness, He resumed his story.


	5. Orphan

_Alas, my readers... I bring you the last of these terribly short chapters... _

_From here on out... Things will become clearer._

_Revelations will come to pass._

_And the true story of Guardian will unfold._

* * *

**With a sullen and broken heart I return.**

**I return to the boy now called Orphan.**

"What do you mean?"

**"He isn't coming back, little one."**

**The words tear my soul.**

**They rip and cause all to bleed.**

"No..."

**The broken child collapses into open arms. **

**Ones that bore the weight of painful truth.**

**"I am so sorry... I failed you both."**

**I weep, taking his radiated sorrow.**

**That wrenching pain.**

**All too familiar was its icy grasp.**

**But still, I hold on.**

**For him.**

**For the promise I had made.**

**I wept for him that day.**

**Together, I and Orphan watched.**

**Watched the planet mourn.**

**The galaxy wept as well.**

**That day...**

**That day was the loss of a hero.**

**And the beginning of something new, and painfully beautiful.**

"What happens now?"

**The timid whisper comes from the boy slung about my neck.**

**As we watch.**

**Watch the world go by.**

**"I do not know, little one..."**

**But then again... **

**Have I ever?**

**Again his tears wet my shoulder.**

**This day.**

**_This_ day...**

**Is the first day of the rest of my life.**

**And by the Force, I am determined to do it right.**


	6. Heart to Heart

_Here it is! The newest installment of Guardian!_

_But first, I want to extend a HUGE thanks to all of you readers! (And you crazies from the forum)_

_Anyway... Caleb, I told you I had something big planned for your birthday..._

**_Here it is_**

_My dear little friend, the one who has enjoyed my games and mind-tricks moreso than the rest, I dedicate not just this chapter for your birthday, bu this__** entire fic.**_

_In fact, it was your birthday fic from the beginning, hence the torture I put you through with snippets..._

_Now, read on and enjoy!_

_~Talicor_

* * *

"Little one… Listen to me," A defeated being begs, standing at a closed door, "I know you hurt… I hurt too-"

"Go away!" The muffled call comes from the other side, as if the youngling had buried his face in a pillow.

"Youngling…" The elder sighs, lowering his hand, "It does no good to lock yourself away like this.."

He lowers his gaze, taking in the dark carpet; mud-crusted from battle-worn bootprints in a staggering and wounded trail to come at a stop at the sealed door.

"I don't care…" He moans back, barely audible to the concerned guardian on the other side, "I miss Dad… I miss Mom…"

The tall figure presses his face to the door in sympathy, trying to reach the distraught orphan in the sparkling waves of the Force.

'Talk to me, little one… Please.'

Without warning, the door hisses open, sending him stumbling, without grace, into the cluttered bedroom. Clothes are strewn about, mixed with the equally scattered bedding.

"Oh, youngling…" Eyes fall, unseen by the youth, as the elder comes to his side, kneeling stiffly among the mess in chipped and broken armor. Since his return, he could not bring himself to change, and the blood still stains his dark clothing, not easily visible in the dim room.

Silent sobs shake the small frame, and a gloved and battered hand takes the child by the shoulder, attempting to soak the sorrow from the weeping child in pulling the boy into a shaky embrace.

"W-Why'd he have to go?"

"The Force willed it, my padawan…" He assuages in a smooth and even voice, though he is ravaged within. "I could not save him… I tried everything I could…" A tear escapes the grieving warrior, child's tears running freely into his cloak as they sat together… Feeling.

Thoughts were unthinkable, ideas unreachable… But feelings remained, bruising and breaking their hearts before fleeting to numbness, and after the last tears dried—Their last sobs choked out—feeling would return, like a soothing rain upon the desert of their souls. Smoothing, healing the broken edges of hearts wrought of bloody glass.

"I-I know, Grandda… I-I know…" The child finally mumbles, looking up to shaded eyes. His cheeks shining with with the fresh dew of a fractured heart. "It- it just… Hurts still…"

Hurt.

Hurt was a vast understatement of what he felt… What they both felt, following the fateful battle, a bloody conflict that had swallowed miserable planet on the fringes of the known galaxy in total war.

What they felt was beyond words… Beyond even communicable thoughts in any form.

I rattling sigh escapes the elder, for he understands.

The pain of loss is all too familiar to him, and his heart pulses in empathy.

"That's how you know they meant something…" He mutters into the child's ear, caressing the little one's strawberry hair, "Someone dear to me once said that we give a piece of ourselves to every person we care about…" Memories tug at the master, and he closes his eyes a moment, "And when they leave our lives… They take that piece with them. Making us hurt."

Another sniffle, and the boy clings to him again, the elder serving as an anchor where others had failed.

"I… It hurts a lot…" He manages finally, wiping away the remaining tears, "Dad was… Well, Dad." Feebly, he makes a somewhat lame gesture out the nearby window before turning back to meet his comforter's gaze, "Will it ever stop hurting?"

"Perhaps," the protector shrugs, finally bringing himself to stand, "Perhaps not, little one… You never know how the flow of time will affect you."

"Oh…" Sea green eyes avert themselves from the elder's steady gaze, as the boy remains in strong arms, seeking warmth and protection from the one man he could even compare with his dad. "I kind of want to keep hurting…"

This manages to elicit surprise from the other, though masterfully hidden beneath a cloak of curiosity and concern.

"Why is that, youngling?"

"Mm…" He considers a moment, eyes drifting off to the glittering cityscape beyond the window—speeders flashing past in a flurry of color, the accompanying sound unheard at this distance. "It keeps me from forgetting, I guess… The hurt helps me remember who's watching me from the Force too." A small smile reaches his lips before burying himself in his newfound guardian's warmth.


	7. Decades

_Well... I had intended on updating Salt... But alas, this is what sung to me._

* * *

**Years pass.**

**And the little boy is not so little anymore.**

**Family.**

**Friends.**

**Love.**

**Loss.**

**Through it all, I remain.**

**Keeping my promise, still fresh from the fires of heartache.**

**My light.**

**My life.**

**They all clung to the little boy.**

**His dreams and hopes.**

**Through the flow of time, I watched.**

**I watched him take the journey of life.**

**I watched him stumble.**

**I watched him struggle.**

**Yet in the end…**

**I was always there.**

**I was the extra hand.**

**I was the anchor.**

**I was the open arms to beckon him home.**

**o0o**

**Back then… I could still laugh.**

**Just as much as I could still cry.**

**Now my face is frozen.**

**The years—turning to decades— passing me by.**

"Grandda! Come watch this!"

**Such innocence… Such bliss in the little one's eyes.**

**It does not last forever.**

"Granddad.. I-I _killed_ a man today…"

**Haunted, a young man collapses into my omnipresent figure.**

**"****I know… But that is what it is to protect the peace."**

**I attempt to soothe, recalling the blood on ****_my_**** hands as well.**

**"****Sometimes… People get hurt."**

"I d-don't want to hurt… I want to _help_ Granddad."

**I sigh.**

**It is here, things aren't quite so easy.**

**"****Sometimes, little one… Hurting ****_is _****the help they need."**

**o0o**

**Time begins to blur.**

**Before I know it, gone is the young man that I protected and guided.**

**Now.**

**His bones are brittle.**

**His flesh grown weak.**

**Yet I remain.**

**I remain by his side, protecting.**

**Strong and stable against his frail and crooked stance.**

**Now it is he that is called "Granddad."**

**As the younglings dance about his feet.**

**o0o**

**With crooked joints and sagging skin, his hand finds mine.**

**His voice is but a slight murmur now.**

**As it rides a dying breath.**

**My hands clasp his a final time.**

**I know it was foolish to hope.**

**To believe I could hold on forever.**

**Yet again, I find my mind and soul rent at the prospect.**

**Not my little one.**

**He was the son I never experienced.**

**The child I never had the chance to raise.**

**He was my dream come true.**

**Only made possible through the jaws of a nightmare.**

**A nightmare that had returned.**

**Returned to claim the first bonds of the promise I made.**


	8. Nightfall

_Hey guys... I'm going to be gone the next day or two.. So I won't be able to get the next chapter of Salt up as planned, but here is another chapter of Guardian to stave off the masses!_

_Not._

_Apologies for the length... But some familiar faces return from the opening chapters!_

* * *

"You really loved him… Didn't you…" A certain padawan looked up at her master's still face, starlight dancing across the ancient and austere lines.

"Yes."

The master's voice came as a soft echo, vitality long gone, leaving but a flat, often sad, tone.

"I loved him more than life itself… I suppose, in the end… That is why I stayed with him so long…" He bows his head, as if in mourning against the flow of time itself.

Green eyes meet his shaded view, and the apprentice smiled, her features softly lit by the warmth of the inner glow of the Temple, as opposed to the cold light descended about the master.

"I love you, Master," She managed, tears threatened at the edge of her vision as they stood, evening cold descended into a nighttime chill beneath the scattering of stars and speeders. A river of glowing energy following the thousands of still-commuting beings.

Yet from this distance… It appeared more akin to an aurora in the glittering night.

"I love you in return, little one," the elder replied, bringing a finger to brush aside a strand of loosened hair from her face, "Even with this ancient and battered heart of mine."

A thought slipped across the young Jedi's mind just then.

"You're scared of the end… Aren't you."

Surprise managed to register through the master's body language, and he turned his attention back to her, for it had begun to drift once again to the stars.

"Whatever do you mean?" The emotionally broken voice met her ears in a familiar echo of sound—one she had known since birth.

"I know why you want me to find someone," she met his empty eyes, steadily holding his gaze. "You've been around so long… Seen so many die…" Pausing, she bit her lip, mind working, "That you've forgotten your humanity… You've become eternal, and you're afraid of what would happen to you in the end…" Drifting off, she stepped away from her protector's embrace, hands finding a hold on the time-worn railing, and enjoying the summer breeze. "After the last of the family perishes…"

Silent, the guardian remained still, wind barely teasing his heavy cape as several moments pass before an answer is elicited from the faceless being.

"It is my purpose… It is all I have left."


	9. Destinies

_Hiya! Here's an update! Finally!_

* * *

**My charge long gone,**

**My purpose unclear.**

**I drift.**

**In and out of lives I go.**

**Prompting.**

**Leading.**

**Advising.**

**Protecting.**

**Always serving my family.**

**Always holding my promise firm.**

**o0o**

**All is not perfect though.**

**And I too begin to change.**

**Once human.**

**Now monster.**

**I remain ever benevolent, aiding in what ways I can.**

**o0o**

**Generations rise and fall.**

**Those once babes, now no more than bones beneath our feet..**

**Voices in the dust.**

**And with them… My heart.**

**Every lifetime.**

**Every person.**

**They leave a mark on me.**

**And with their passing…**

**They take a piece as well.**

**And so, I erode.**

**Soul slowly wearing thin.**

**Now, I am but an echo of who I used to be.**

**Cold.. Empty..**

**Yet I continue in my duties, raising each new generation.**

**Until it comes to you, my fair child.**

**Mother unable.**

**Father unwilling.**

**I take you under my guiding wing.**

**To the Temple once again.**

**Teaching by the Jedi ways…**

**I watch you learn.**

**Watch you grow.**

**o0o**

**I know I am nothing but an old, faceless sentinel to you.**

**Ever on the edge of your existence.**

**But I implore you to listen..**

**Listen to the words of a broken soul.**

**For I know.**

**I know the trials of mortality.**

**I know the fickleness of the human heart.**

**And I know, young one…**

**That you are meant for greater things.**


	10. Slumber

_Looky here! An update!_

_Sorry for taking so long, but I am happy to announce that __**Echoes **__(the companion piece to this) Is nearing the publishing stage! I plan on releasing it as soon as this tale is finished._

_Anyway! Enjoy!_

_~Talicor_

* * *

Emerald eyes falling, the young woman managed a small smile, tears glittering on her softly lit face.

"You always know what to say, don't you, Master."

A small, almost human movement made itself apparent in the guardian's shoulders as he shrugged.

"I certainly have had time to practice."

Shaking her head, the apprentice looked up to the stars one last time, galaxy spread like a web of delicate life amongst the darkness of space, lacing everything with light in the quiet of the Temple grounds.

"You really think there's someone out there for me, huh?"

"Undoubtedly." Came the ancient's answer, his hands clasped beneath the shadow of his cloak. Breaking the hold only to gesture at the stars, he continued, "In a universe so vast as this… How can it be possible for a being to wind up alone, outside of their own choices?"

Following his movements, the young woman conceded with a nod.

"You're right, Master, I should at least give it a try… Live my life a little." She added, eyes finally looking to the aurora of light and color, swirling throughout the city-planet in the harmonious pulse of life.

"And that is all I ask," the elder practically whispered, tone broken and lifeless as ever. It was almost comforting in a way to the young woman as she returned to the warmth of the interior of the building. Finding herself inside, exhaustion washed over her slim frame, causing her to droop slightly against the master as he moved to support her.

Taking her tenderly by the shoulders, the shadow-clad being smiled through body language as he escorted her to a bed.

"You are tired, youngling," he soothed, gently lying her down on the simple arrangement, "Rest now… For tomorrow is a new day, bringing new promises with it."

Before the apprentice could so much as mumble in protest, the master whisked from her presence, and instead, began his nightly and eternal watch upon the balcony, webs of starlight draping him in an almost heavenly glow.


	11. Lifetime

_Surprise, surprise! Another update!_

_I apologize for the length (Or lack thereof) but the next scene will get a lot of attention!_

_We are winding down now... Not far from the ending at this point._

_Thanks for sticking with it!_

_~Talicor_

* * *

**Oh, how long ago that was, my child…**

**That crisp and unwavering night.**

**I recall the changes from then on..**

**You were different.**

**Yet I remained same as ever.**

**I watched you fall in love.**

**Just as all before you.**

**o0o**

**I recall your wedding day. **

**One of many I have attended.**

**Yet… There was something different there.**

**o0o**

"Dance with me, Master."

**"****Are you certain?"**

"It'll be fun. I promise."

**o0o**

**Such bliss…**

**Such happiness…**

**Oh, little one.**

**If only it had lasted…**

**o0o**

**Death…**

**Betrayal…**

**The wounds run deep.**

**And I, as ever, remain at your side.**

**o0o**

**I recall that miraculous day.**

**After all had passed...**

**A light amidst that terrible darkness that threatened to consume.**

**New life… New joy..**

**A new hope for the future was brought upon the wings of Fate.**

**Destined for great things.**


	12. Names

_Hi, guys... Another update this week! We are down to the last few chapters! I had planned on making this scene longer, but it didn't seem to mesh with the style of the rest of the story... So here ya go!_

_~Talicor_

* * *

"S-Send him in, Grace…" An exhausted voice manages to address a hovering med droid in the sterile quiet of a hospital room. Its source: a strawberry-haired woman, her face flush and eyelids heavy as she lay on the crisp bedding.

No sooner does the droid leave, another faceless being flows in through the door, not so much as a whisper of sound clinging to his dark—yet comforting— form.

"You wish for my presence, young one?" The voice is its characteristic echo, no true vitality remaining in the soft syllables of speech. At the tired nod of the young woman's head, the specter approaches, settling finally at the edge of the bed. Satisfied her master is near, the apprentice proffers a small bundle, one far more precious than she had previously thought possible.

With ancient and tender care, gloved hands accept the babe, and with well-known ease, comforts the child in his arms. Smiling at the sight, the new mother finds tears teasing the edge of her vision.

"He is beautiful, little one," the guardian verbalizes in his soft tone, child nestling against his dark form. "I sense much of you in him."

At this, she simply shakes her head.

"No… He has much of his father in him."

The spoken words bring a pained and heavy sense of loss, seeming to weigh down the very air with its presence.

The ancient bows his head.

"Have you named him?"

Again her head is shaken, a few loose wisps of hair drifting about her face with the motion.

"No," She concedes, "I… Did not see myself as good enough to decide on my own…" A slight pause as she looks up to her faceless protector, "I want you to name him, Master.. It is only fitting."

A form of surprise registers through the being, and he tips his head.

"Are you certain of this, young one?" I brief pause as the babe mewls, huffing sleepily in the protector's arms, "Who am I to name this child?"

"You…" The woman breathes, eyes sliding shut, "You are the father I never had, Master…" The guardian draws near, brushing the hair from her face as she collects her thoughts. "He doesn't have one either now…" She drifts off, almost ashamed, "I want you to be that person for him… Like you were to me."


	13. Legacy

_I believe you all know what this means..._

_Yes, my dear readers, we have reached the end of this work._

_The story has run its course._

**_But fear not!_**

_As of August 7th, I will be publishing the first chapter of __**Echoes**__, for all your Guardian needs.. It will be a full-length companion piece/novel, chronicling the entirety of Guardian, from the very beginning!_

_(And in regular story form to boot!)_

_All loose threads, and unanswered questions shall be solved with the upcoming tale._

* * *

**And so, I was.**

**Taking the babe under my wing, I changed.**

**More than ever before.**

**Face unfrozen…**

**Eyes unshaded…**

**I faced the world anew.**

**No longer known by name, I make myself known as a simple protector.**

**Guardian.**

**In one fell swoop, I severed the ties that bound me.**

**Bound me to my past life..**

**No more.**

**No more would I carry that shameful marks of all I had done.**

**o0o**

**The child grew up, knowing no better.**

**He trusted, he played…**

**Grew up amongst the Jedi**

**He never saw it coming.**

**Darkness.**

**Violence.**

**The galaxy engulfed in chaos.**

**o0o**

**Gone were the days of peace.**

**Returned had the siren of War.**

**o0o**

**As ever, I did my duty.**

**Protecting.**

**Preserving.**

**Ensuring his safety on the fields of battle.**

**o0o**

**Alas, if only I had known…**

**Known of the change that ate from the inside out.**

**o0o**

**Despite my efforts…**

**Despite my pleas…**

**I failed him.**

**I failed all I had ever stood for as a protector…**

**And that is why I come here now.**

**To this place of bones.**

**Place of broken hearts…**

**Shattered dreams…**

**o0o**

**A tender touch upon my heart, and I am home again.**

**So long…**

**So long have I waited for this day…**

**To come home... **

**T****o my son..**

**My grandson…**

**Descendants.**

**Ages have flown me by, yet in my heart…**

**They remained.**

**Each and every life I touched..**

**Every soul I guided…**

**They stand all before me now.**

**o0o**

"We've been waiting for you."

**"****Me?"**

"You've been gone a long time."

**"****I failed you…"**

"No.. You did your best."

**"****The line has ended…"**

"As all things do, Father… Now, come home. Mother is waiting."

**o0o**

**Together at last, my soul is at peace with the flow of time.**

**Now, I am one with the Force, my temporal form left behind.**

**As a messenger, you could say.**

**For those who have yet to come, seeking the path of power.**

**That destructive, burning presence…**

**It is my hope that this tale reaches them.**

**Before it is too late…**

**That they may be spared the fate of those who seek with ill intent...**

**For it is my duty to protect.**

**Even from beyond the grave.**


	14. Epilogue

_Well guys... I believe I told you this story has ended..._

_But another is just beginning._

_Behold the Epilogue, and the __**Echoes **__that follow..._

_For a final time, I update this fic, tying it directly into the epic tale of Guardian's life in full._

_~Talicor_

* * *

Silence… Solitude…

That is all that remains.

Soft leaves flutter in the breeze, trees undulating with quiet life at the unseen force. Birds perch amidst the flora of the small grotto in harmony with the hushed atmosphere of this sacred place. And in the center…

There kneels a dark figure, unmoving from his position of mourning at the base of a granite slab, name upon it long worn with time. Dust scatters from the form's shoulders at the kiss of wind. Still, he remains undisturbed, cowled and hidden from the galaxy…

Until now.

Boot steps approach from a path long unused, sound muffled by the thick carpeting of grass, long and lush in the summer afternoon… Three strangers being the source as they stumble through the brush, almost disturbing the sacred peace upon the grove. Eyes widen at the frozen scene, and a single wanderer steps forward…


End file.
